MIAMI - A federal grand jury in Miami has returned a superseding indictment unsealed today charging 24 defendants with conspiring to traffic large quantities of cocaine in and around Miami-Dade County and elsewhere in the Southern District of Florida.

The eight-count superseding indictment charges the following defendants-each a resident of Miami unless otherwise indicated-with drug trafficking conspiracy and related offenses: Bienvenido Leo Rodriguez, 73; Roberto Rodriguez, 52; Alberto Leandro Curiel, 72; Pedro Gonzalez Alvarez, 48; Claudio Alberto Barrios, 55, of Miami Beach; Raimundo Antonio Roca-Naranjo, 72, of Miami Lakes; Roberto Jimenez, 53; Luis Alejandro Salcedo Rey, 54; Rolando Rodriguez Lugo, 57; Diego Diaz De La Cruz, 47; Lucia Cuadrado, 65, of Hialeah; Jorge Mahique Pareta, 64, of Hialeah; Miguel Marquez Romero, 29, of Naples; Heinrich Castillo Diaz, 47; Jose Arnaldo Bermudez, Jr., 42; Paulo Sabon Montero, 54, of Naples; Valerio Alvarez Abreu, 73, of Hialeah; Santos Saavedra, 81; Eustaquio Luis Cardoso Veliz, 63; Glenis Perez Martinez, 54; Yovanis Fernandez, 51, of Hialeah; Manuel Nuez, 55; Livan Padron Duque, 49; and Jorge Falla, 50.

"These defendants are alleged to have operated a violent drug trafficking enterprise that planned a murder for hire and smuggled kilograms of cocaine into the United States," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department's Criminal Division. "Violent drug trafficking organizations fuel addiction, violence and instability in American communities. The Criminal Division will aggressively pursue drug trafficking organizations that use drugs to poison our citizens and violence to protect their profits."

"This indictment reflects months of coordinated investigative work by federal agents and the City of Miami Police Department, under Chief Morales's leadership, targeting a large-scale cocaine trafficking conspiracy operating in South Florida," said U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida. "Through close, sustained collaboration, investigators disrupted a network that moved multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine, trafficked in cash and firearms, and posed a real threat to public safety. The seizures in this case and the early intervention to prevent further violence demonstrate the effectiveness of focused, partnership-driven enforcement and our shared commitment to protecting this community."

"This takedown sends a clear and unmistakable message: drug trafficking and the violence that follows it will not be tolerated in Miami," said Chief of Police Manuel A. Morales of the Miami Police Department. "I am extremely proud of our narcotics detectives from the Special Investigations Section and grateful for the hundreds of hours of tireless, often undercover work that led to today's safe and successful operation. Their dedication, combined with outstanding collaboration with our partners at the FBI, the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida, and State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle and her team at the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office, made these results possible."

According to court records, including previously filed criminal complaints, the defendants conspired to distribute multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine throughout South Florida. During the investigation, law enforcement seized approximately seven kilograms of cocaine on April 1 and an additional 10 kilograms of cocaine on May 27.

The investigation also resulted in the seizure of significant proceeds and firearms. From Bienvenido Rodriguez's residence, law enforcement recovered $58,214 in cash and two firearms. From Roca-Naranjo's residence, agents seized $62,520 in cash, two firearms, and more than 100 rounds of assorted ammunition.

Roca-Naranjo, a previously convicted felon, is additionally charged with unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon.

The superseding indictment also contains a general forfeiture allegation seeking the forfeiture of proceeds and property traceable to the charged offenses.

If convicted, Bienvenido Rodriguez, Roberto Rodriguez, Curiel, Gonzalez Alvarez, Barrios, Jimenez, Marquez Romero, Castillo Diaz, Bermudez, Jr., Cardoso Veliz, Perez Martinez, and Fernandez face up to life imprisonment. If convicted, Salcedo Rey, Rodriguez Lugo, Diaz De La Cruz, Cuadrado, Mahique Pareta, Alvarez Abreu, and Nuez face up to 40 years in prison. If convicted, Roca-Naranjo, Sabon Montero, Saavedra, Padron Duque, and Falla face up to 20 years in prison.

The investigation also disrupted a murder-for-hire plot in Fort Myers. According to court documents filed in the Middle District of Florida, between April 16 and 17, Marquez Romero and Sabon Montero discussed killing an individual identified by a co-conspirator in exchange for up to $30,000. Investigators learned that the co-conspirator had been hired by the intended victim's brother to carry out the plot. Marquez Romero, Sabon Montero, and the co-conspirator exchanged multiple phone calls and arranged an in-person meeting to discuss the plan. On April 17, the conspirators met in a grocery store parking lot in Naples, where they were apprehended by the FBI with the assistance of law enforcement partners.

U.S. Attorney Reding Quiñones, Acting Assistant Attorney General Galeotti, Special Agent in Charge Brett D. Skiles of FBI, Miami Field Office, and Chief of Police Manuel A. Morales of the Miami Police Department made the announcement.

FBI Miami is investigating the case in conjunction with the City of Miami Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert J. Emery for the Southern District of Florida and Trial Attorneys Jessica A. Massey and Alieu Kargbo of the Criminal Division's Violent Crime and Racketeering Section are prosecuting the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney G. Raemy Charest-Turken is handling asset forfeiture.

This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Miami comprises agents and officers from the FBI and the City of Miami Police Department with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida.

This case is also part of DOJ's Criminal Division's Violent Crime Initiative to prosecute violent crimes in Miami. The Criminal Division and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida have partnered, along with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, to confront violent crimes committed by gang members and associates through the enforcement of federal laws and use of federal resources to prosecute offenders and prevent violence.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at https://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 25-cr-20253.

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